TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Planning, Building, and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Kendall Sawyer, Staff Services Manager
SUBJECT: Budget Amendment for Groundwater Sustainability Agency Special Revenue Fund
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve a Budget Amendment increasing both revenue and appropriations by $1,500,000 in the Groundwater Sustainability Agency Fund to cover unanticipated and increased expenditures associated with implementation of the Groundwater Sustainability Plan. (Fiscal Impact: $1,500,000 expense, Groundwater Sustainability Agency Fund, Not Budgeted, Discretionary)
[4/5 vote required].
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BACKGROUND
On December 17, 2019, the Napa County Board of Supervisors approved Resolution 2019-152, establishing the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). In accordance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA), the Napa County GSA is charged with sustainable management of groundwater in the Napa Valley Subbasin. The Napa Valley Subbasin (Subbasin) has been designated by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) as a high-priority groundwater basin, requiring the development and implementation of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP), which was submitted to DWR on January 31, 2022, and approved on January 26, 2023.
The GSA SRF funds agreements associated with GSP implementation including the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), technical consultants, and other initiatives to achieve a sustainable Subbasin. At the time the fiscal year 2023-24 budget was being developed, it was projected that the GSA would need a minimum of $2 million to implement the GSP and move towards a sustainable basin. The GSA concurrently pursued additional revenue from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Prop 68, Round 2 grant program. The grant revenue was anticipated to provide a maximum of $8.8 million over three years.
The GSA was not awarded the $8.8 million in grant funding. Irrespective o...
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